Maty Mauk like a ‘big brother’ to Drew Lock as both compete for Mizzou QB job

Freshman quarterback Drew Lock authored the most-talked-about play in Missouri’s season-opening 34-3 win against Southeast Missouri.

During the closing minutes, Lock rolled to the far left side of the field, spotted Tyler Hunt all alone on the other side and launched a 50-yard ball to Hunt, who outran the Redhawks’ defense for a 78-yard touchdown.

What happened next was equally impressive and encouraging. Lock said he was watching film of the play when he saw starting quarterback Maty Mauk mouth “Where’s Drew?” from the sideline.

“He was looking for me after I threw it and that means a lot to me,” Lock said, “especially coming from a guy like him.”

As excited as Lock was to throw his first career touchdown pass, Mauk was just as pumped.

“His first game he went out there and threw an 80-yard touchdown or something like that,” Mauk said. “I couldn’t be more happy for him.”

Lock knows things could be different.

“It really shows that he wants me to be successful and he knows that I’m more likely to have to take the reins once he leaves …” Lock said. “He wants the best for me and that … helped me out a lot. He could show hate toward me and all, but I don’t think he feels threatened at all. That means a lot to me.”

Ultimately, Mauk and Lock want the same thing — to be the Tigers’ starting quarterback — but they choose to approach the competition with mutual admiration rather than animus.

“Maty is a very confident guy,” Missouri offensive coordinator Josh Henson said. “I think they have a great relationship. I watch them interact. They have fun together. They talk a lot about football together. I think they’re just two guys that understand there’s going to be competition and, like coach has always done, the best player’s going to play.”

Mauk, a junior, is 15-4 as a starter the last three seasons. He relishes that role, but he also understands the necessity and value of having a dependable backup.

During the 2013 season, when James Franklin suffered a separated shoulder, Mauk stepped in and helped save the Tigers’ season — a magical run that culminated with the first of back-to-back SEC East championships.

Much like Lock, a star at Lee’s Summit who was last season’s Simone Award winner, Mauk enjoyed his own much-ballyhooed arrival on campus, fresh off setting the all-time national high school record for passing yards and touchdowns.

Mauk always appreciated that Franklin took him under his wing and mentored him rather than push him away.

“It’s kind of the same thing with me and Drew now,” Mauk said. “Whoever that starting quarterback is, the next guy up, he’s got to be ready to go. That’s the big emphasis for me was Drew. He’s got to understand he’s one step away from being in there full-time.”

Other Missouri players have taken note of Mauk’s and Lock’s relationship.

“Maty’s big brother,” sophomore wide receiver J’Mon Moore said. “He’s like Drew’s big brother. Drew is always getting some type of tips from him, getting some type of way to do something better. Maty just helps him improve his craft basically.”

Without that relationship, it’s unlikely Lock would have quickly ascended the Tigers’ depth chart.

“It helps Drew a lot, because if you’re getting the cold shoulder from the guys in the quarterback room, it doesn’t build your confidence,” MU associate head coach/quarterbacks coach Andy Hill said.

Mauk frequently grabs Lock for evening film-study sessions with Hill and offensive analyst Kendall Bradley after their schoolwork is finished.

“This year, it was one of our goals to do a lot more (preparation) — at least two more hours extra per week …” Mauk said. “We’re going over extra stuff just to make sure that our reads are right and they are crisp, our progressions are right and to make sure we know what we’re doing, whether it’s third-and-1, third-and-3-to-6 or third-and-long, whatever it is.”

Lock says preparation has been the area Mauk has made the biggest difference.

“He’s been really good to me as far as helping me learn, teaching me everything that I need to know and I couldn’t be more thankful for the things that he’s done for me …” Lock said. “He’ll tell me when I messed up, which is good. I’m completely for that. But then, at the same time, he’ll tell me what I’m doing good.”

Saturday marked the sixth time that two Missouri quarterbacks threw for 100 yards in the same game, but it was the first such instance in which the Tigers won the game. Mauk and Lock combined to complete 18 of 32 passes for 319 yards with three touchdowns and an interception.

“I think it’s great,” Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said of his quarterbacks’ relationship. “I think it’s healthy. I think it’s that way at all our positions. We battle and compete and all that, but I think there’s a general respect that everyone has for one another. That’s part of being a team, and that’s part of being close-knit as a family.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 2:39 PM with the headline "Maty Mauk like a ‘big brother’ to Drew Lock as both compete for Mizzou QB job."